Faversham Magna Carta

PRESS RELEASE 23rd June 2014

Major funding boost for Faversham plans to commemorate 800th anniversary of Magna Carta in 2015.

Faversham Town Council’s plans in 2015 to commemorate 800 years since the original sealing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede were given approval by the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee this week with the award of £20,000 towards the ‘Faversham Magna Carta Rediscovered’ project.

The grant awarded from the £1m funding provided by the Chancellor in his Budget speech on 18th March, was one of the first grants to be announced following a detailed bid by Faversham Town Council and towns across the country with a direct link or an association with Magna Carta.

In total ten projects were awarded funding, and in addition to Faversham, other successful recipients included Runnymede Borough Council, Salisbury Cathedral, the American Bar Association and The Royal Commonwealth Society.

Councillor David Simmons, Chairman of the Faversham Magna Carta Committee said ‘The recognition by the 800th Anniversary Committee of the project ‘Faversham Magna Carta Rediscovered’ confirms the importance attached to the 1300 Faversham Magna Carta, a relatively unknown Charter which previously has been unrecognised by many scholars’.

Chairman of the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee, Sir Robert Worcester commented ‘This copy of the Magna Carta along with the other five of 1300 should be recognised as the legitimate Magna Carta taken into English Law, the 800th Anniversary provides a one time opportunity to include the 1300 exemplifications’

The Faversham Magna Carta will be displayed as the centrepiece of the touring exhibition ‘Magna Carta Rediscovered’ which will launch in Faversham in May 2015 and proceed to visit Canterbury, Maidstone and Rochester Cathedral. Whilst in Faversham, visitors will also be able to view the Faversham Charter Collection described by a leading historian as a ‘magnificent collection’ with Charters dating from between 1252 to 1685.

The Magna Carta Trust’s 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee is charged by the Magna Carta Trust to co-ordinate activities, raise the profile of the anniversary and deliver a number of key national and international aspirations. For more information, visit www.magnacarta800th.com.